Shropshire Farming Talk: Health & Safety in new farming arrangements
At a time of year when the occupation, management and operation of farms frequently change hands, it is important to ensure that relevant health and safety responsibilities are satisfied.
Transitions are often staggered with the outgoing party continuing to harvest grain, bale straw and holdover crops in store, while the incoming party begins cultivating, drilling and working in farm yards and buildings.
Whether a change in owner, tenant or contractor, the health and safety implications should be considered and the various reciprocal obligations met.
The terms of farm business tenancy and contract farming agreements should be read to understand the exact delineation of health and safety responsibilities, and the necessary actions taken swiftly.
Those taking on the management of farm yards and buildings should ensure that signage is in place, workplace transport (the movement of vehicles and pedestrians) is effectively managed, buildings are structurally sound, an asbestos register and management plan is in place, and hardwire fixed electrical safety is tested.
Focusing on farm land, the routes, voltages and height of overhead power lines should be plotted, locations of underground services identified, and public rights of way known.
Where there is a change of contractor, this information should be supplied by the landowner to the new contractor with the request that they provide this to their employees and any sub-contractors such as for hedge cutting, wholecrop foraging, or sugar beet drilling and lifting.
Where outgoing and incoming parties temporarily operate in parallel, there should be clear communication and a shared responsibility to coordinate and control health and safety.
This is particularly the case in farm yards where there should be an awareness of those operating, with reasonably practicable steps taken to segregate vehicle and pedestrian traffic and to manage practicalities including avoiding workers being exposed to grain dust when maintaining grain stores while crop is being outloaded, and controlling sources of ignition in close proximity to combustible materials such as fertilisers.
Practically, this can be as simple as the outgoing and incoming parties communicating effectively to ensure that jobs happen at appropriate times, in the right order and in a controlled manner.
Despite the pressured time of year, the transition to new farming arrangements should include due consideration of health and safety requirements, ensuring the outgoing party’s exit is safely managed and the incoming party is fully briefed and aware of their obligations to themselves and others.
by Dan Matthews, Ceres Rural
